Mike

Patriot (DM = Block) Not looking for a Pen Pal

[Mike @BookishRetard]

Another Book Cover

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

Essay's of Michel De Montaigne illustrated by Dali: 1947

"Preparing for death is preparing for freedom. Those who have learned to die have unlearned to live in servitude."

I've been working on this for some time. Some of the essays kept my attention, while others, not so much. This editions was quite interesting in that it's Salvador Dalí’s 1947 limited edition of Montaigne’s Essays that marries Renaissance humanism and surrealist vision. Dali selected key passages and illustrated them with a bunch of vibrant color folios and haunting etchings that deepen Montaigne’s reflections on mortality, vanity, imagination, and the self. Many of the illustrations escaped my understanding, but, hey, that's why we have Grok!

The standout final essay, “Of Experience,” is worth finding and reading. It’s a complication of what he learned through life: how to live fully.

"On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom."

The lower Dali illustration depicts Montaigne’s “That to Study Philosophy Is to Learn to Die.”
A contemplative figure sits on a dodecahedron (symbol of rational order and eternity), while a ghostly horseman of Death rides nearby.
Message: Calmly confront mortality through philosophy and you will live freely.

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@penguinusa

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

Wish you the best in your quest, Chase! If you’re just getting started, this quote will be of use to you:
“For the present, buy — buy whatever has received the imprimatur of critical authority. Buy without any immediate reference to what you will read. Buy! Surround yourself with volumes, as handsome as you can afford.… The moment has now come to inform you plainly that a bookman is, amongst other things, a man who possesses many books. A man who does not possess many books is not a bookman.”

[Diary of Samuel Pepys @DiaryOfPepys]

Saturday 6 June 1663

Lay in bed till 7 o’clock, yet rose with an opinion that it was not 5, and so continued though I heard the clock strike, till noon, and would not believe that it was so late as it truly was. I was hardly ever so mistaken in my life before.
Up and to Sir G. Carteret at his house, and spoke to him about business, but he being in a bad humour I had no mind to stay with him, but walked, drinking my morning draft of whay, by the way, to York House, where the Russia Embassador do lie; and there I saw his people go up and down louseing themselves: they are all in a great hurry, being to be gone the beginning of next week.
But that that pleased me best, was the remains of the noble soul of the late Duke of Buckingham appearing in his house, in every place, in the doorcases and the windows.*
By and by comes Sir John Hebden, the Russia Resident … Hebden, to-day in the coach, did tell me how he is vexed to see things at Court ordered as they are by nobody that attends to business, but every man himself or his pleasures. He cries up my Lord Ashley to be almost the only man that he sees to look after business; and with that ease and mastery, that he wonders at him. He cries out against the King’s dealing so much with goldsmiths, and suffering himself to have his purse kept and commanded by them.

Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (Baron Ashley, Chancellor of the Exchequer)

*Sam meant that the assassinated Duke of Buckingham's flamboyant personality and taste still lived on visibly in York House. The grand carved doorcases and ornate windows featuring his coat of arms, crests, and personal motifs bore the unmistakable stamp of his extravagant refurbishments, decades after his 1628 death.

“His (Buckingham's) tenure as Lord High Admiral and de facto foreign minister was marked by a series of failed military campaigns, such as the ill-fated Cádiz expedition (1625), which damaged his reputation and public image. Buckingham's assassination in 1628 by John Felton, a disgruntled army officer, highlighted the extent of his unpopularity among the public.” Wikipedia

Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, 1625

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

The Divine Comedy: Paradise (1321) by Dante

“All that is scattered in the universe is gathered in its own deep unity within that Light.”

Finito! Yes, it took me awhile, but I can now report that I've completed this work.

Paradiso is the last section of Dante’s Divine Comedy. After climbing Purgatory, the pilgrim Dante rises through the nine spheres of Heaven with Beatrice as his guide. Here saved souls shine in perfect joy, each in their proper place according to how much they reflect God’s love. The imagery turns dazzling: glowing lights, music of the spheres, and visions that grow more brilliant until words fail. You feel the same terza rima flow, political touches, and deep theology, but now everything is wonderous. Beatrice leads him higher until he glimpses the Trinity itself. This final part ranks among the greatest because it dares to describe the indescribable: a union with God. It blends philosophy, personal love, and ecstatic poetry to show that Heaven is complete understanding and joy.

As a bonus, the audiobook contained an hour's worth of history regarding Dante (Dante: A Life by Flynn). It was interesting and useful as many of his characters are patterned after contemporary figures.

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

“People think that an interruption is merely the unhooking of an electric chain, and that the current will flow, when the chain is hooked on again, just as it did before. To the intellectual and imaginative student an interruption is not that; it is the destruction of a picture.”

"It is not erudition that makes the intellectual man, but a sort of virtue which delights in vigorous and beautiful thinking, just as moral virtue delights in vigorous and beautiful conduct."

"Reading is not merely an occupation to fill up time; it is the nourishment of the mind. But as with bodily food, we must choose what will strengthen us, not what merely pleases our taste. To read well is to digest wisely, to assimilate what is good and leave what is not."

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@goodreads

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

This question seems to making the rounds. I’ll give you two:

"There is one place, however, where no boundaries are fixed, no doors closed, no bolts shot: among his books a man laughs at his bonds and finds an open road out of every form of imprisonment."
My Study Fire (1899) by Hamilton Wright Mabie

“The hobby of another is books—books old and new, in vellum and in calf, gilt-edged and marbled, with headbands and without— with which, perhaps, he packs his cases, loads his what-nots, stuffs his drawers, and piles his floors, till his whole house becomes a library, a wilderness of books!”
Hours with Men and Books (1877) by William Mathews

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

I’ll give you two:

"There is one place, however, where no boundaries are fixed, no doors closed, no bolts shot: among his books a man laughs at his bonds and finds an open road out of every form of imprisonment."
My Study Fire (1899) by Hamilton Wright Mabie

“The hobby of another is books—books old and new, in vellum and in calf, gilt-edged and marbled, with headbands and without— with which, perhaps, he packs his cases, loads his what-nots, stuffs his drawers, and piles his floors, till his whole house becomes a library, a wilderness of books!”
Hours with Men and Books (1877) by William Mathews

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@Dearme2_ Absolutely! The ones I’m currently working on are shown here.

[Mike @BookishRetard]

@draecomino Good point, what he doesn’t say it that this means he will “take” 50% from those companies. Seizure of this sort isn’t constitutional. Hey, nothing is more important than food production. Let’s seize 50% of that as well. He’s showing his communist stripes.

[Diary of Samuel Pepys @DiaryOfPepys]

Monday 1 June 1663

Begun again to rise betimes by 4 o’clock, and made an end of “The Adventures of Five Houres,” and it is a most excellent play.
So to my office, where a while and then about several businesses …
I with Sir J. Minnes to the Strand May-pole; and there ’light out of his coach, and walked to the New Theatre, which, since the King’s players are gone to the Royal one, is this day begun to be employed by the fencers to play prizes at. And here I came and saw the first prize I ever saw in my life: and it was between one Mathews, who did beat at all weapons, and one Westwicke, who was soundly cut several times both in the head and legs, that he was all over blood: and other deadly blows they did give and take in very good earnest, till Westwicke was in a most sad pickle. They fought at eight weapons, three bouts at each weapon. It was very well worth seeing, because I did till this day think that it has only been a cheat; but this being upon a private quarrel, they did it in good earnest; and I felt one of their swords, and found it to be very little, if at all blunter on the edge, than the common swords are. Strange to see what a deal of money is flung to them both upon the stage between every bout. But a woful rude rabble there was, and such noises, made my head ake all this evening. So, well pleased for once with this sight, I walked home.

The Adventures of Five Hours (Sir Samuel Tuke)

The Strand May-pole was a prominent landmark on the Strand, near the site of today’s St Mary-le-Strand church. Erected after the Restoration in 1660 to replace the Puritan-destroyed original, the tall decorated pole symbolised royalist revival and May Day festivities

After the King’s Company moved to Drury Lane, their former venue (Gibbon’s Tennis Court, Vere Street) began hosting fencing “prizes.” This one was eight weapons (three bouts each) with near-sharp swords. Westwicke was badly cut and bloodied. Fighters fought earnestly, especially on private quarrels; spectators flung money onto the stage to encourage the fighting.

What dueling might actually have looked like among soldiers or pirates. From the series “Scenes of War” by Hans Ulrich Franck, 1656. Courtesy of the British Museum.

[Diary of Samuel Pepys @DiaryOfPepys]

Tuesday 2 June 1663

Up and by water to White Hall and so to St. James’s, to Mr. Coventry; where I had an hour’s private talk with him….
And lastly, he confesses that the more of the Cavaliers are put in, the less of discipline hath followed in the fleet; and that, whenever there comes occasion, it must be the old ones that must do any good, there being only but Captain Allen good for anything of them all.
To-night I took occasion with the vintner’s man, who came by my direction to taste again my tierce of claret, to go down to the cellar with him to consult about the drawing of it; and there, to my great vexation, I find that the cellar door hath long been kept unlocked, and above half the wine drunk. I was deadly mad at it, and examined my people round, but nobody would confess it; but I did examine the boy, and afterwards Will, and told him of his sitting up after we were in bed with the maids, but as to that business he denies it, which I can [not] remedy, but I shall endeavour to know how it went.
My wife did also this evening tell me a story of Ashwell stealing some new ribbon from her, a yard or two, which I am sorry to hear, and I fear my wife do take a displeasure against her, that they will hardly stay together, which I should be sorry for, because I know not where to pick such another out anywhere.

The tierce held ~36 imperial gallons (159 litres). Above half was drunk, so 18 gallons stolen. At a typical £8 per tierce, the loss was worth £4, about 1% of Pepys’ £350 annual salary. This explains his fury over the theft. Wine was a status symbol as you needed it when guests arrived.

Pepys’ maids earned £2 10s–£4 per year. The stolen wine £4 equalled or exceeded a full year’s wages for one. They effectively drank their salary in claret : )

Mary Ashwell joined the household in March 1663 as Elizabeth’s cultured companion. Daughter of Sam’s former Exchequer colleague, she had taught at a Chelsea girls’ school. The June 1663 ribbon theft sparked tensions; despite Sam valuing her refinement and skills, she was dismissed in 1664 amid domestic quarrels.

Captain Sir Thomas Allin (1612–1685) was a capable Royalist commander praised by Coventry and described the sole competent “new” officer amid declining naval discipline. An experienced fighter from Prince Rupert’s fleet, he later excelled in the Second Dutch War, became Admiral of the White, and served as Comptroller of the Navy.

Portrait by Sir Peter Lely, 1665

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@readswithravi “The aim of literary study is not to amuse the hours of leisure; it is to awake oneself, it is to be alive, to intensify one’s capacity for pleasure, for sympathy, and for comprehension.”

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@RaminNasibov "The cleverest folk are those who discover soonest how to utilize their neighbor's experience and so get rid in good time of their natural presumption."

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

“No book is worth anything which is not worth much; nor is it serviceable, until it has been read, and reread, and loved, and loved again; and marked, so that you can refer to the passages you want in it, as a soldier can seize the weapon he needs in an armory, or a housewife bring the spice she needs from her store.”

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@goodreads

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@goodreads

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

@readswithravi

[Mike Bookman, Gent. @IAmTheBookman]

A Small House and Large Garden (1924) by Richardson Wright

“In looking into windows, on the other hand, you are fired with a desire to see how like yourself the other half lives. Whatever vision greets your eyes will be an image of yourself, for we see in others that which we are.”

Excellent! A charming gem for us garden lovers, philosophers and idlers. Richardson Wright, longtime editor of House and Garden magazine, offers a delightful journal of life in a modest home paired with an ambitious garden. You get wonderfully witty and observant essays that blend practical advice on plants, soil, and design with philosophical reflections and a sprinkling of the joys and frustrations of gardening. There are wonderful essays titled: Old Gardeners, Spare the Side Roads!, A Pansy a Day, The Candle in the Window and many more. His elegant prose captures the optimistic spirit and reflective nature of a contentedly serene man. It’s timeless garden reading.